Katrina Didn't Just Hit New Orleans

by Leigh Graham · 2009-07-22 22:30:00 +0930
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Contrary to how much time we spend covering the Crescent City here...

Courtesy of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition's Katrina Housing Group listserv, here's some late day links of how other Gulf Coast communities in TX, LA, MS and AL are still dealing with the 2005 storm's impacts:

"FEMA to pay Houston $2.4 million": "After Katrina devastated New Orleans and large swaths of the Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama coastlines, the City of Houston volunteered to be FEMA’s regional agent, organizing disaster-related assistance for evacuees.  The city’s management of the interim housing program provided housing for more than 150,000 evacuees for about 18 months."  This is a final round of payments made to the city by FEMA.

The lawsuit against the state of Mississippi for re-directing affordable housing funds to expand its Gulfport port is not mentioned here, but the article highlighting Gov. Barbour's celebratory bulldozer ride over the kickoff of the project at least recognizes that "Community activists and two congressional officials say the $570 million in Community Development Block Grant money earmarked for the port should be put back for affordable housing. They say that's where the money was intended to go in the first place."  Wetlands destruction gets a single sentence. So glad we learned our lesson with Katrina on that!  Meanwhile, formerly flood ravaged Iowa frets over the slow pace of rebuilding in Mississippi.

Four of five different housing projects in Mobile, AL are falling behind due to hurricane-related delays and litigation; the one HOPE VI redevelopment is on track.

Finally, a bipartisan group of Senators and House Reps are pushing to have the stimulus fund the conversion of post-disaster housing tax credits into cash for rebuilding, as it's doing for low-income housing tax credits. (The recession has eviscerated the market for affordable housing tax credits, our #1 tool for building AH these days.)

The Salvation Army is helping to build environmentally sustainable housing for lower- and moderate-income workers in St. Tammany Parish in the metro New Orleans region.

Leigh Graham
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